Bicycle safety top priority for Cub Scouts
St. Augustine Cub Pack 435 held a Bicycle Safety Rodeo Saturday, April 21, at R.B. Hunt Elementary under the direction of the St. Augustine Police Department and St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. The Bicycle Safety Rodeo acts as a way to teach children the rules of the road when biking.

Club Calendar
The VFW Post 2391 of St. Augustine would greatly appreciate any donations of titled vehicles, running or not. Boats, motorcycles, cars, vans, trucks--anything with a title is needed. All donations are tax deductible. To support your local VFW or for more information, call 797-5267.

HOROSCOPE
ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Don't waste time today waiting for something to happen to you. You have to make things happen, and if you act now, you could discover something really incredible!

Where are all those REO fans?
QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. (AP) -- A 3-day rock concert with REO Speedwagon, Kansas, Steppenwolf and others was canceled when fewer than 400 tickets were sold.

Singer suffers from lung infection
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Grammy nominee Jill Scott has been hospitalized with a lung infection, an illness that has forced her to miss the first few dates as the opening act on Sting's tour.

Sorenstam gets fifth win on LPGA Tour in '01
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. -- Annika Sorenstam won for the fifth time this year, beating fellow Swede Sophie Gustafson on the second playoff hole Sunday in the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship.

The 'Man' and the 'Machine'
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. -- Granted, Annika Sorenstam doesn't have trophies from four major championships sitting on her coffee table.

Study finds nurses deeply dissatisfied
PHILADELPHIA -- Many hospital nurses are frustrated to the point of burnout by what they consider inadequate numbers of nurses, rising patient loads, declining quality of patient care and even verbal abuse directed at them on the job, a new survey finds.

Clinton visiting China as private citizen
WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State Colin Powell and President Bush's national security adviser spoke with President Clinton before he left Monday morning for China, but the White House said the former president is not traveling as an emissary of the Bush administration.

White House: Can't keep gas prices down
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has no ''magic wand'' to wave away soaring gasoline prices, the White House said Monday, ruling out price controls and offering little hope of a reduction in the federal gas tax.

It's 'Play ball!' at the White House
WASHINGTON -- ''Welcome to baseball in the White House,'' President Bush cheered before joining about 300 fans crowded onto makeshift bleachers Sunday to watch the spirited debut of T-ball on the South Lawn.

Zydeco pioneer dies
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Wilson ''Boozoo'' Chavis, a Lake Charles bandleader who was one of zydeco music's pioneers and most beloved characters, died Saturday in Austin, Texas, of complications after a heart attack. He was 70.

Texas Senate OKs hate crimes legislation
AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Senate on Monday passed a hate crimes bill named for James Byrd Jr., the black man dragged to his death from a pickup truck. The measure goes back to the House for final approval.

More blackouts ordered for California
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California's power grid managers ordered statewide rolling blackouts Monday for the first time since March, cutting enough electricity for about 225,000 homes.

PALM VALLEY: Multitude of weird to wonderful things can be seen in the Valley
If you live on or near the water -- there's always the potential for seeing something new, different and odd or spectacular on any given day. In the decade that we've lived in the Valley we've had the privilege of seeing countless weird to wonderful things. Sailboats and tankers have run aground on an outgoing tide at odd hours in front of our home. Boats literally from all over the world pass by -- tall-masted ships to multi decked cruise liners with gaily waving passengers. We've helped untold boaters in distress, had a drunken sailor hit our dock (twice) after leaving Ward's Landing one Sunday afternoon and watched as an F-14 fighter jet banked and thundered off with thrusters flashing in a deafening roar a mere few hundred feet above us -- also making a show for the revelers one Sunday afternoon at Wards Landing.

HASTINGS: Federal Point church baptizes seven during service
St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Federal Point celebrated a Holy Baptism service April 29. This joyous occasion saw seven people being baptized, including Faith W. Lawson, Alexys Lawson, Colby Watts, Kimberly McLeod, Samantha McLeod, Shelene Back and Brenda Lawson. Father Paul Canepa performed the baptismal service.

NORTHWEST: Deputy offers some tips on traffic, crime issues
Tim Robertson, five-year deputy with the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, spoke with me in reference to traffic issues in the Northwest part of St. Johns County. ''We received between three to five calls a day at the sheriff's office regarding speeding and aggressive drivers in the area,'' he said. Recently, the sheriff's office set up an enforcement effort, as drivers left the Mandarin area traveling south on Florida 13 across the Julington Creek Bridge. In 2 1/2 hours, six deputies from the SJSO traffic unit wrote tickets to 81 vehicles for unlawful speeds. The average ticketed violator's speed in the 45 mile-per-hour zone was 64 mph; laser at 76 mph clocked the highest speed.

THE SOUTH: Additional input is sought for 2020 Visioning plan
Residents of the southeast section of St. Johns County have a second opportunity to give their input Thursday, as part of the Southeast County 2020 Vision project. This Thursday, area residents are invited to give their ideas for the visioning process. The process involves getting residents, property owners and commercial and industrial enterprises in the designated area to say what they would like this area to look like in the year 2020 and beyond.

LINCOLNVILLE: Crime Watch needs sponsors for 'Kids Carnival'
Landis Hewett says Lincolnville Crime Watch needs sponsors for several events in this year's National Night Out ''Kids Carnival,'' which immediately follows SAPD Officer Joe Bowen's Bicycle Parade, on Tuesday, Aug. 7. Joe Shannon's ''Low Budget Games'' will be set up at St. Benedict's Church, which has graciously offered their newly manicured grounds for the children. A number of events are still available for sponsorship by business or community groups. Call Landis 829-9721.

BEACHES: Annual Hartley Volunteer Luncheon set for May 17
One evening last week I fixed a simple dinner, dished it into plastic containers, placed them on a tray, grabbed a couple of cold drinks and called my husband, Mr. Godsey, to dinner. I handed him the pickup keys, placed the tray on the truck seat and we drove to the beach where we enjoyed eating with an ocean view through the windshield. What a relaxing dinner with surfers, fishermen, walkers, joggers and the sea for entertainment. We do this sort of thing quite often. Give it a try, it's cheaper than a restaurant with a view and you can feed the leftovers to the waiting gulls and sandpipers. Ah, what a place we live in.

A dedication to education
Students, teachers and officials put the finishing touch on St. Johns County's two newest high schools Sunday by dedicating the buildings to education and welcoming the community to tour the campuses.

Thefts and burglaries
- A statue worth $250 was stolen from the backyard of a home in the 150 block of Spartina Avenue Friday.

For the record: Boil water advisory issued near C.R. 210
United Water Florida has advised that homes and businesses along the County Road 210 corridor from Interstate 95 to, and including, Cimarron community to boil water used for drinking and food preparation for at least three minutes. Bathroom sinks and water fountains should not be used as a drinking water source.

Homeless man arrested after fight
A 44-year-old homeless man was arrested on aggravated battery charges Saturday after a man's nose was broken in a fight, according to St. Augustine police.

PSC holds hearings for Nocatee water
Utility companies seeking to serve Nocatee's future 36,000 residents met before the state Public Service Commission Monday. But St. Johns County continues to question the agency's jurisdiction as it withdrew its application from the commission.

SANDS OF TIME
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY .... Tony Braddock, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Braddock Route 3.

Man-of-war, tar found on beaches
Two unwelcome visitors -- Portuguese man-of-war and tar -- made their way to St. Johns County's ocean waters over the weekend, drifting in as a result of current patterns.

Guardsman dies at Camp Blanding
A 29-year-old Florida National Guardsman died of an apparent heart attack Saturday night during an evening jog along a road on Camp Blanding in Clay County.

SANDS OF TIME
The annual Grange sewing contest was held Sunday at 6 Old Spanish Trail. The Judges were Mrs. Hazel Kenny, Ms. Sally Corbett and Mrs. Gertrude Wolfe.

Lifelong farmer honored
Bill Cotton, a recognized leader in the potato farming industry, was recently awarded the Honorary Life Membership in the Potato Association of America. Cotton began his farming career in the 1950s when mules were used to move citrus from the orange groves.

Burglaries
- Sony Play Station, games for the Play Station, clothing and assorted kids items, valued at $850, was stolen from a home on Knowlton Road on Sunday.

The community's roots
Heading north to Dyersburg, Tenn., Stoy Slaughter made one more tourist stop in St. Augustine.

Journey of remembrance
Hundreds of motorcyclists will ride to the National Vietnam Memorial in Washington on Memorial Day for the 13th Annual Run For the Wall, and Mike Frye of St. Augustine plans to be among them.

Epifania Bristol
Memorial services for Epifania Bristol, 94, who died May 6, 2001, at Mariner Health Care of St. Augustine, will be held 4 p.m. today at the chapel of Kotrady-Hudgins-Croyle Funeral Home with Minister Don Belloit of Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall officiating.

Letter: Help save Ichetucknee from kiln plan
I would like to let people know that the Ichetucknee cement kiln is not a done deal. This kiln is planned to be located three miles from the Ichetucknee River and is also very near the Sante Fe and Suwannee rivers. All three of these rivers have huge cave systems tying them into the Floridan aquifer.

Letter: Thank you, Paul Martz, for everything
Once upon a time there was a normal, wide-eyed, brown-haired boy, who loved to fly kites in grassy fields with his little dog running along beside him; who played ball on sand lots with his friends and rode his bike down steep hills with the wind in his face and adrenalin flowing ... just like millions of other little boys. But then he got sick and soon not only could he not play ball with his friends, but he couldn't walk to the school bus stop. And although he soon felt better, he learned he would never walk again unaided.

Opinion: Of dweebs and doofuses
The American language has something in common with tropical fish. Our mother tongue is constantly spawning new words or breeding new usages of old words. In the aquarium of language many of these little fish go quickly belly-up -- Koreagate, for example, and Lancegate. Others swim merrily into the mainstream -- bamboozle, discombobulate, lollygag.

Letter: It's all about money, greed, power
How'd ya like the Clinton pardons? What'ya think of Nocatee? Any parallel between bribery for pardons and electioneering to pass the full employment act in North Florida for a select handful in the building profession? As Clinton might say -- you can't prove that?

Opinion: It's time for a reality check
WASHINGTON -- Now that the wheels have begun to turn in the Senate and House on the education proposal President Bush placed at the top of his domestic agenda, it is time for a reality check.

Unpopular groups could get money under Bush plan
WASHINGTON -- Sending taxpayer dollars to the neighborhood church or synagogue sounds like a great idea to many Americans. But what about government money for the Nation of Islam, Scientologists, Hare Krishnas or Wiccans?

Pope reaches out to three faiths
DAMASCUS, Syria -- John Paul II became the first pope to enter a mosque Sunday, calling for brotherhood between Christians and Muslims and stepping across a sensitive line in his campaign for better relations among different faiths.

Pope prays for peace in Mideast
QUNEITRA, Syria (AP) -- Preaching from the rubble of a Golan Heights city that is a reminder of Syria's war with Israel, Pope John Paul II prayed Monday for peace and forgiveness in the Middle East.

Venus Williams eyes No. 1 after win
HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- With her second consecutive title in hand, Venus Williams turned her attention to Martina Hingis and the No. 1 ranking.

Ravens re-sign Woodson to 5-year deal
OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens re-signed safety Rod Woodson, who had been released in a salary cap move, to a five-year contract Monday.

Devils for Game 7 with Maple Leafs
TORONTO -- Jason Arnott had a goal and an assist as the defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils forced a seventh game with a 4-2 victory Monday night over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Local athletes compete in state finals
The state track and field meet on Friday and Saturday may have been in Coral Springs, but it definitely had a local flavor to it. Seven athletes from the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind competed in the Class A competition, while Bartram Trail and Pedro Menendez each had one representative in the Class 2A finals.

Menendez basketball camp offered
Steve Melgard will conduct the inaugural Pedro Menendez basketball camp from July 30 to Aug. 3. The camp is open for boys and girls, ages seven to 14. Falcons girls coach Karl Senderling will headline a list of camp counselors.

Florida tops Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Kevin Goss drove in two runs in the sixth inning to give Florida the lead and the Gators held on to beat Auburn 5-2 Sunday.

Switzerland Point camp offered
The Seventh Annual Switzerland Point Middle School Basketball Camp will be held in two separate weeks this year. The first camp will run July 9-13, followed by a July 16-20 segment. Cost for each session is $60. For more information, call 794-9144.

Cordova a big hit in Cleveland
CLEVELAND -- Marty Cordova has moved on. He doesn't talk about being an AL Rookie of the Year anymore or his five seasons in Minnesota or getting cut by Boston.

Menendez swim team meeting
A meeting for all incoming freshmen and returning Pedro Menendez boys and girls interested in joining the swim team should attend a meeting tonight at 7 at media center of Menendez. The meeting is for new and returning team members and their parents.

Drag racing offered at speedway
On Friday night, Street Drags will come to St. Augustine Speedway.Street legal cars will run a 100-yard dash using the front pit road of the speedway.Drivers must be 18 years old. Each car has to be registered with a tag and legal to drive on the street.

Environmentalists stopped unwanted measures
TALLAHASSEE -- Environ-mentalists' biggest victories in this year's legislative session were fighting off measures they didn't like, including a plan to pump untreated water underground and a change in lawsuit rules.

Democrats call for nationwide election reform
RIVIERA BEACH -- Democratic Party leaders on Monday urged nationwide election reform following the Florida Legislature's decision last week to ban punchcard ballots as part of an overhaul of the state's election system.

Wildfire burns 2,000 acres in Collier County
NAPLES -- A brush fire in Collier County, one of three along U.S. 41 between Naples and Miami, burned about 2,000 acres and briefly threatened a small Indian village Monday, officials said.

Gov. Bush: All not lost with growth bill's failure
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Jeb Bush says all is not lost by the Legislature's failure to do much this year about growth management, an issue that has vexed Florida virtually since the advent of air conditioning.

Cessna makes crash landing
FORT PIERCE (AP) -- A Cessna plane carrying two flight club members made a crash landing on a state road after running out of gas Sunday, police said.

25-year-old man shot to death in Cocoa
COCOA -- A 25-year-old man was shot and killed a few blocks from his home, just two days after his uncle was shot in a gunfight that left another man dead.

Japanese leader vows changes to be revolutionary
TOKYO (AP) -- In his first major policy speech, Japan's new prime minister on Monday sketched a wide-ranging plan of painful reforms to jolt the stagnant economy back to life -- and held out the possibility of direct popular elections for prime minister.

Spanish politician shot, ETA suspected
ZARAGOZA, Spain (AP) -- A ruling party politician was shot to death Sunday in the city of Zaragoza in an attack that bore the hallmarks of the Basque separatist group ETA.

Palestinian baby killed in Israeli shelling
KHAN YUNIS REFUGEE CAMP, Gaza Strip -- A 4-month-old Palestinian baby girl named Iman died Monday when Israeli shellfire landed in the yard of her home -- the youngest person killed in the current Mideast bloodletting.

'Great Train Robber' is back home, in jail
LONDON (AP) -- Ronnie Biggs, the self-styled ''gentleman criminal'' who eluded capture for decades after taking part in Britain's Great Train Robbery, was back behind bars in Britain on Monday after surrendering to Scotland Yard.

American space tourist back on Earth
STAR CITY, Russia -- Dennis Tito ended the world's first paid space vacation Sunday with a fast and fiery descent to Earth and an ecstatic assessment of his multimillion-dollar adventure.

Defense rests case in Islands murder trial
ROAD TOWN, British Virgin Islands -- An American charged with killing a Connecticut woman rested his case Monday after a final witness attacked the credibility of an inmate who said the defendant confessed.

Bosnian Serbs attack ceremony for mosque
BANJA LUKA, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Angered by plans to rebuild a mosque in their city, a Bosnian Serb mob beat dozens of Muslims and forced U.N. and other Western officials to take refuge Monday inside Banja Luka's Islamic center.